Postsecondary Settings and Transition Services for Students with Intellectual Disabilities: Models and Research

Abstract

Preparing high school students for college and employment that leads to adult selfsufficiency is a daunting task for educators (Lerner & Brand, 2006; Spence, 2007).This task becomes more complicated as technology changes rapidly, as policy makers mandate standards that all students must meet, and as schools evolve to serve more students with linguistic, academic, and social challenges.For students with intellectual disabilities (ID), their families, and the educators who provide services in the public schools, the complexity of this task increases further.We use the term students with intellectual disabilities to include students with mental retardation, autism, traumatic brain injury, and multiple disabilities who are likely to need ongoing, individualized supports in order to participate in inclusive communities (U.S.Department of Education, 2004; U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, 2004).In some states these students receive an alternative diploma or certificate rather than a high school diploma (Johnson & Thurlow, 2003).Obtaining adequate support to participate in educational opportunities, attaining long-term funding for post-school services, and locating employment sites for individual students with ID require creative collaborative ventures and changes in policy (Hart, Zimbrich, & Ghiloni, 2001; Neubert, Moon, & Grigal, 2004; Stodden & Whelley, 2004).Models are available allowing some students with ID to access college courses and to explore employment options that reach beyond sheltered work during their final years of public schooling (Doyle, 2003;Grigal, Neubert, & Moon, 2001; Hall, Kleinert, & Kearns, 2000; Hart, Zafft, & Zimbrich, 2001; Pearman, Elliott, & Aborn, 2004).These models can provide a blueprint for replicating similar services and for identifying issues to address through research and policy efforts. BACKGROUNDEor the past 30 years, secondary students with ID often have received instruction in segregated classes to learn functional academics/life skills and have engaged in communitybased instruction for employment, mobility, and recreation experiences (Billingsley & Albertson, 1999).Students with ID also have increasingly accessed general education courses and extracurricular activities during their secondary years (ages 14-18) as a result

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